Ear Poking and Ass Slapping, Oh My! (Part 3)

(This is finally Part 3 of my personal and crazy experience of receiving a massage at one of the so, so many cheap foot reflexology businesses)

Instead of going into so much more detail let me just highlight a few more things. When I was face up and he was massaging my face and head, he stuck his fingers inside my ears. No not massaged my ears, literally stuck his fingers in the hole of my ear! Many friends have asked if he gave me a wet Willie, lol. Minus the wet part, yes! How odd is that? My left ear bugged me for a week! Why would you stick your fingers in someone’s ear??? He took my eyebrows and pulled them out. Literally grabbed the eyebrows and pulled them straight up. And an embarrassing thing, he took my back fat and pulled on it, grabbing it between his hands and squeezing. For the most part I’m very comfortable in my body and who I am, however this definitely made so not comfortable with myself! I had various parts of my body just unusually smacked such as the tops (backside) of my hands, my triceps, my butt, and my feet. My guy had a bracelet on that I would both hear move around and scratch me at times and my friends guy chewed gum the whole time to which I could hear him (I so hate the sound of chewing!). After the ‘massage’ and uncomfortableness and many, many, many times asking myself WHY is he doing the weird things he’s doing, I was glad it was finally over and all I could do was laugh.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website . Learn something new daily, "like" me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Massage Packages: Which One Do You Want?

I am very happy to announce the new creation of massage packages for Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage!  So I'm just going to go right into all the packages without any more pre-information.


Pure Heavenly Healing (Year of Heavenly Wellness)
50 Massage Sessions ~ $2997 Limited Quantity Offer (Save $1003)

Picture this…once a week, you being massaged for a whole year (minus two weeks off for vacations, etc)! This investment into yourself is your own preventative health care routine. This is designed to assist your body’s natural healing ability by increasing your immune system. Massage benefits the body through pain and stress relief, lessens depression, increases your levels of dopamine and serotonin, as well as increasing your natural killer cells which respond and kills cells that are infected when you have a virus and boosts your body to ward off illnesses such as colds, flu’s, cancer, diabetes and more.

Purchase your “Pure Heavenly Healing” package between now and January 31, 2010. I am only offering a limited number of these packages for your year of Pure Heavenly Healing massage wellness. You will have an annual savings of $1003 for the year! Bonus is that you may use your pre-paid massage and convert it to a gift to give to family, friends or clients in place of your massage. Appointments must be made seven days in advance. Package is good for one year from date of purchase.


Healthy Body and Mind Package
24 Massage Session ~ $1597 Limited Quantity Offer (Save $323)

Create your own preventative health care system with the Healthy Body and Mind Package. Twice a month, for twelve months, you receive the health benefits of massage. Maintain a healthy body and mind through massage which increases the circulatory and lymphatic systems and remove toxins from your body, in addition to diminishing the stresses from your mind. Massage has been proven to decrease your stress levels and prevent various sicknesses and with this twice a month package you will improve your health and assist your bodies’ natural abilities to heal its’ self.

Purchase this package between now and January 31, 2010. I am only offering a limited number of these packages. You will have an annual savings of $323 for the year. Plus you may exchange your pre-paid massage to a gift to give to family, friends or clients in your place. Appointments must be made seven days in advance. Package is good for one year from date of purchase.

 
Take the Knot’s Out Package
6 Massage Sessions ~ $419 (Save $61)

There is nothing quite like a massage to get those knots out. With this package you choose when you want to use your massages whether it’s once a week for six weeks or once a month for six months. Whether you’ve just been stressed out or spent the whole weekend playing golf and need to get the body back into a pain-free state. It’s up to you. This package is good for six months from date of purchase.


The Total “Ahhh” Package (Wine and Massage)
3 Massage Sessions with 3 bottles of wine ~  $279

For the wine fan, how much better could it be then to have a bottle of Silkwood Wine hand-delivered to you with each massage? With this package not only will you receive a most amazing massage, you get a hand-delivered bottle of Red Duet to enjoy a glass either before your massage or as a refreshing end to your relaxing session. Plus since I come to you, you will have no worries about drinking and driving as I’ll be the one driving away as you give a toast to the Heavenly feeling you will experience. Appointments must be made seven days in advance. Package must be used within six months of date of purchase.


Body Tune Up Package
3 Massage Sessions ~ $219 (Save $21)

Just like a car, your body needs to get its tune-ups too. This package is designed for you to get your once a month body tune-up. It’ll help you release those pent-up stresses and give you the time to relax the body and mind and feel renewed and refreshed. This package is good for three months from date of purchase.


For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Post-Op Massage Rx

According to the Archives of Surgery, they have concluded that "Massage is an effective and safe adjuvant therapy for the relief of acute and postoperative pain in patients undergoing major operations."   The controlled study showed that patients in the massage group experienced a faster rate of decrease in pain intensity.  They also found that massage therapy improves postoperative anxiety and pain management.  After surgery a patients muscles become very tight and sore for a variety of reasons.  The main reason, of course, being the surgery itself.  Rather graphically, the body is cut into and things are spread out and moved in ways most of us don't want to think about.  This puts a lot of pressure on the whole body, not just the area that is having the surgery.  There is also the recovery of laying around being dormant in a hospital bed that can play havoc on your body.  The muscles can start becoming atrophied, even in small ways that will make you sore.

So the next time you know someone getting ready, or who has had recent surgery, consider getting them a massage instead of the get-well cards, balloons and flowers.  

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

What Size Are You? It doesn't matter!

We all have our own body issues, things that we don't like about ourselves that we see differently then everyone else sees.  And when it comes to massage and having to expose those areas that we don't like to our massage therapist can be very hard for some people.

As a massage therapist, I look at and treat the body differently then you do.  I do not notice that you might be overweight or that you have cellulite in various areas or that you think your legs or butt are to big.  All complaints I've heard from clients who don't like their various parts.  For me, I look at the body and how I can help heal it.  I really don't notice cellulite if I'm working on your legs, or if you have cankles, or if you think you're too thin or too heavy.  These are all things we criticize enough about ourselves.  My focus is your whole body!  What can I do to make you feel wonderful and comfortable and help you relieve any pains that you might be having!  Though this might sound a bit weird, I visualize the muscles under the skin and whether I can 'get rid of' the knots that you have or how your body is reacting to the massage and the pressure I am doing.  Again, I do not care what body issues you have or what size you are.  I care about you the person, your body and how I can help heal it and make you feel that your body is perfect just the way it is.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Natural Relief for Constipation

Getting our stomach massaged is not something we usually think of when we think of massage. Even for my own style of massage, I don't usually include the stomach unless asked. There are some clients who regularly want their abs massaged and some who have asked about it yet never want their stomach touched. Despite the lack of clients who do want abdominal massage, it can have a significant affect on your body. Abdominal massage does help increase bowel movements, especially when constipated, as well as helps decrease gastrointestinal symptoms.

With all the ads for laxatives, it seems we have a problem with this not so much talked about syndrome. Yet, obviously there are many people who have constipation. Constipation usually means you've been depriving your body of essential things such as water, fiber and adequate exercise. A long-term remedy to constipation can be as simple as a daily walk and a few dietary changes. However a short term remedy could be your own hands. You can self massage your stomach for a bit of relief (as well as asking your massage therapist to include your abdominals as part of your next massage).

To massage your stomach make sure to use some type of lotion or oil. Very little is needed. Lie on your back and use your palms or fingertips. Press in lightly and stroke down the left side of your abdomen towards the feet, continue around to the right side and stroke up towards you head. Basically you will start in a large clockwise circle and continue this path into smaller and smaller circles. Do this for about five to ten minutes. If you have an ulcer, hernia, or high blood pressure it is best to not do this.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Your First Time (At least for Massage)

Never had a massage before? Feel a little nervous? Should you do anything to prepare for a massage? What should you expect? These are a few of the common questions and/or fears for the first-time massage client. Most people are nervous the first time they get a massage. This is actually very normal even though it seems like a contradiction. There is the fear of the unknown as well as feeling vulnerable to putting your body and trust into someone you've never met before. Once you start getting massaged and feel comfortable with the massage therapist those fears usually subside and you will relax.

You will not really need to 'prepare' for a massage because your job will be to just lay there and let the therapist do all the work. Though you may want to drink a small bit of water and/or maybe take a shower prior. That's it. Simple. What you should expect is to get what you pay for. If you want a relaxing massage, you should be relaxed. If you need those knots and pains to be worked on or a sports massage then that's what you should expect. The main thing you will need to do is communicate prior to the massage of what you want as well as during the massage. If your therapist's pressure is too light or too deep for you, please speak up.

I hope this has helped you make the decision to get a massage and get passed those fears, questions and concerns. Now the big thing is....when will you make your first appointment?

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Complimentary verses Altenative

On my last post, there was comment made from John. I have tried various times to comment back yet for whatever reason it is not posting. So I thought I'd (finally) make a small blog to respond. John is right in regards to the terms of alternative verses complementary. Alternative is a term that is used as way to describe something that is not mainstream and alternate to 'standard' types of practice. I stand corrected in misuse of the word. The wording of complimentary is definitely the choice word to use, especially for the many modalities such as Reiki, acupuncture, yoga, and massage to be used in conjunction with 'standard' or Western types of health care. As the word states, it is a compliment to go with whatever types of health care that you choose to use. Thanks John for helping clarify that.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website or follow me on Twitter.

Does Stress Cost Your Company Money?

Yes, stress does cost your company money and time and the numbers are really staggering. Per the American Institute of stress website, consider these statistics:

• 40% of job turnover is due to stress
• Repetitive musculoskeletal injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome have become the nations leading workplace health cost and account for almost a third of all Worker's Compensation award
• In California, the number of Workers Comp claims for mental stress increased almost 700% over eight years and 90% were successful with an average award of $15,000 compared to a national average of $3,420

Companies all over are looking for answers to reduce costly stress related absenteeism, low morale, reduced productivity and employee turnover. Supporting and encouraging individual health is a wise investment in your companies bottom line.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website

The Self-Indulgence of Massage

Do you feeling guilty about getting a massage? Does it seem self-indulgent and selfish? Massage actually has many important benefits to your physical and mental health. It can help you maintain your emotional, mental and physical well-being, especially when it is part of your health plan. It addresses a variety of health conditions, with stress-related tension being the most common. Massage therapy offers a natural, non-invasive, drug-free and humanistic approach based on the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

Benefits of Massage

• Relaxing: Massage calms the nervous system and promotes a sense of peace.
• Soothing: Massage eases tension and anxiety.
• Healing: Massage stimulates the lymphatic system, which carries away the body’s waste products.
• Improves breathing: Massage calms the body as a whole, which in turn quiets the lungs into its more natural state of breathing.
• Improves circulation: Massage improves blood circulation which delivers oxygen and nutrients to the cells.
• Eases tension, stiffness and pain: Massage prevents and relieves muscle cramps and spasms.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website

Are you Dehydrated?

Is water really necessary? Almost everyone knows that you should drink eight glasses of water a day. Cleveland Clinic nutritionist Andrea Dunn says, "Absolutely. Almost every cell in your body needs water to function properly. Many of the patients I see don’t drink enough water. They aren't dehydrated, but they aren't drinking as much water as they should -- especially considering how much your body needs."

The human body, which is made up of between 55 and 75 percent water (lean people have more water in their bodies because muscle holds more water than fat), is in need of constant water replenishment. Consider this: Your lungs expel between two and four cups of water each day through normal breathing - even more on a cold day. If your feet sweat, there goes another cup of water. If you make half a dozen trips to the bathroom during the day, that's six cups of water. If you perspire, you expel about two cups of water (which doesn't include exercise-induced perspiration).

Ms. Dunn points out that a person would have to lose 10 percent of her body weight in fluids to be considered dehydrated, but as little as two percent can affect athletic performance, cause tiredness and dull critical thinking abilities. Adequate water consumption can help lessen the chance of kidney stones, keep joints lubricated, prevent and lessen the severity of colds and flu and help prevent constipation. "I encourage patients to drink eight to 10 cups of water each day. Those who do report that they generally feel better," notes Ms. Dunn.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website.

Shoulder Care Checklist (Part 4)

This is the final part of the four part series on the guide and care of your shoulders. I hope you have learned something great about taking care of your body!

The Shoulder Care Checklist
To prevent shoulder problems from occurring, always practice healthy shoulder habits with these helpful
ideas:

• Maintain good posture - stand with shoulders back and keep shoulders back when on the computer
• Avoid excessive and repetitive use of your shoulders
• If you sit at work, take frequent breaks and stretch
• Don’t put undue stress on the shoulders with heavy backpacks or purses
• Warm up your arms before exercising
• Consult your chiropractor, massage therapist or doctor if you injure or develop pain in your shoulder, even if it seems minor
• Do any maintenance exercises that is given to you
• Stretch shoulders frequently
• Strengthen shoulder muscles

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website.

Shoulder Issues...Massage will help! (Part 3)

This is part three of a four part series on the guide and care of your shoulders.


Massage Therapy Can Help
Massage therapists can help when shoulder problems occur. More importantly, they can help prevent these kinds of problems from happening in the first place. Massage therapists can evaluate your shoulder through range of motion tests and other assessment procedures. They can then give you recommendations on the best course of treatment.

Their first priority is to make you feel more comfortable by getting rid of your pain. They can do this with specialized massage techniques. They may also use heat or hydrotherapy. To help the process along and to help prevent further problems your massage therapist can also give you exercises to help strengthen your shoulder and help maintain your mobility as well as refer you to a chiropractor for further treatment as needed. And again as the previous post, do NOT ignore your shoulder pain! The pain does not 'go away' it's more that you just get used to the pain until it gets so bad that you finally decide to get treatment.


For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website.

Shoulder Issues and Problems (Part 2)

This is part two of a four part series on the guide and care of your shoulders.

Shoulder Problems
The shoulder is prone to a variety of problems that can give you pain and limit your range of motion. Many of these are simply caused by wear and tear. For example, a common injury is tendinitis of one of the rotator cuff muscles called the supraspinatus. Through poor posture or overuse, the tendon becomes inflamed and painful. When the bursa becomes inflamed you develop what is known as bursitis. This can be extremely painful.

Trigger points, small knots in the muscles, are very common around the shoulder and can refer pain and tenderness into the muscles or joints. The referred pain can mimic other shoulder problems like tendinitis and frozen shoulder. Other issues such as sprains and dislocations typically result from falls. It’s a natural reaction to reach your arm out to catch yourself when falling, but the impact can strain or tear the shoulder ligaments. If the impact is severe enough, the humerus may be knocked right out of the socket and the shoulder becomes dislocated.

With a severe trauma, the bones may actually fracture or break. The collarbone is most likely to break although the humerus can sometimes break as well. When this happens the arm needs to be immobilized. Fractures can take up to three months to heal.

Whenever you have a shoulder problem, you tend to limit your movement to minimize the pain. This can lead to frozen shoulder. Your shoulder becomes stiff and you quickly lose mobility. It can soon become extremely painful to lift your arm. If you develop a frozen shoulder, it will take a long time and lots of therapy to regain your normal movement. Sometimes the only option is surgery. The best medicine in this case is prevention. As soon as you develop any pain or discomfort in your shoulder, see your chiropractor or massage therapist as soon as possible for treatment. Pretending like it doesn't hurt that much, or that the pain will go away will not make the problem better. Actually, ignoring the pain will make the problem worse. Don’t risk getting a serious and debilitating shoulder condition.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website.

Employee Overtime = Employee Overstressed

In the June 2008 'Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine' (a publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine), a study concluded that employees who worked overtime were at an increased risk of anxiety and depression. This study on anxiety and depression was concluded on 1,350 employees who worked 41-100 hours per week and approximately 9,000 people who worked 40 hours or less per week.

For both men and women, working overtime was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression. The rate scores of these two types of mental distress for men was 9% who worked a normal work week compared to a 12.5% rate of depression for men working over 40 hours per week. For women this rate was 7% for a normal work week compared to 11% depression and anxiety rate for overtime hours. And men who worked more then 48 hours per week were at the highest risk, though even moderate overtime hours seem to increase the risk of mental distress for both men and women.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website.

Employee Work-Life Balance

According to the world's largest human-resource-management association, 14% of employers worldwide offered massage therapy to employees, per a study conducted in 2006. To quote "Massage therapy is a great health-maintenance tool that aids in stress reduction. This is especially beneficial for employees who work in a very stressful work environment." said a report done by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). This information about massage ran in the reported section titled "Work-Life Balance Benefits", which also included other benefits such as postal and dry-cleaning services, meal preparation, legal assistance and travel planning services.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website.

Heart Health through Napping

Want to increase your lifespan? Want to do something good for your heart? Take a nap! Researchers found that midday napping reduced coronary mortality by about one-third, according to a study done in 2007. Naps are common in several Latin American countries as well as the Mediterranean regions and these countries seem to tend to have low mortality rates of coronary heart disease. 23,681 study participants were followed for an average of 6.3 years by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and Greece's University of Athens Medical School. These participants had no history of coronary heart disease, stroke or cancer. Participants took an average of a 30 minute nap, three times per week had a 37% lower coronary mortality rate than those not taking naps. A 12% reduction of coronary mortality was shown in occasional nappers. So go ahead, take a nap. Improve your heart, increase your life...get a quick snooze.

For more information on Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage, please visit my website.

Communicating with your Massage Therapist

We all know that communication is the key for everything. From communicating with your loved ones to communicating with people you may only encounter once in your life. Everyday we communicate, though some days may be better then others on our communication skills. Now I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with massage. It actually has a lot to do with massage, actually more to do between you and the massage therapist then the actual massage. Just like any other area of your life, communication needs to be present between you and the therapist doing the bodywork. The first piece of communication would be relaying any pertinent information such as particular body parts that you might want more work on then others, any large bruises or sprains that we should be aware of, as well as any type of pain medications that you might be taking. In regards to the pain meds, the reason you would want to relay this information is because with certain strong pain meds such as doctor prescribed, they work so well that you may not feel how deep a massage you might be getting which would not be a benefit for you body and could be counterproductive. Another key time to communicate with your therapist is during the massage. This would be to let the massage therapist know if the pressure is too soft or too hard. Most of my clients are happy with my 'regular' pressure and style of massage. However, we are not all built the same. I have had clients that like a very soft massage as well as ones that have wanted the massage so deep that if it was me, I'd be screaming. Yet, this is what the client wants, not me. Mainly, if your not happy with the pressure, say something! When I massage a client I try to watch the body language to see if it's telling me if the pressure might be too hard. Most of the time the body will speak in ways that the client won't and I try to keep my eye out for it. However, if the body isn't giving me signs, I would not know. I try to always tell my clients to please let me know if the pressure is too hard or too soft. My philosophy is that they are paying me to make them feel wonderful and fantastic, not to feel all right and dissatisfied with there massage. Plus the fact that I just want them to feel wonderful and fantastic! So to reiterate all of this, please talk with your therapist about your massage. Let them know what pressure you like, whether it might be too hard or too soft. And if for some reason you are not feeling comfortable about communicating this during the massage, send them an email or maybe even a text to let them know. I know I won't please every single client, yet I would like to know what they did not like that I might be able to improve for the next time I massage them (hopefully there will be a next time) or for the next client.

Maternity Massage

Maternity massage is a soothing, full body massage specifically for the soon-to-be mother. While a pregnant woman’s belly expands and her body changes, this massage aids in those discomforts that come with pregnancy. Your massage can be utilized on the special pregnancy ‘pillow’ that allow you and your belly to be in a face down position. Maternity Massage aims to relax, improve circulation and provide comfort during this time of change.


Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage

The Sound of Music

Music is played by most massage therapists during a session as it can help evoke relaxation. I personally bring my Ipod with over 150 massage 'style' songs. However, I have had clients that will turn on their own music and it has been anything from classic rock to country (though country is not a favorite of mine, it is a nice change of pace for me). We all know that music evokes emotions. Whether it's heavy metal that brings out our inner tyrant, the love songs that may evoke tears as the memories of loves gone bad flood our mind, or even the 70's, 80's, or 90's music that brings us back to our teen years of high school and the quick escape into that time period in our lives.

Listening to healing music can lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, relieve depression, enhance creativity as well as help manage pain. Studies have been done on the effects of music and your body and one study has shown that listening to music strongly effects healing, releases dopamine and simply put makes us happy. Funny how an official study gave us something I think most of us already knew. Researchers have also found emotions aroused by joyful music have a healthy effect on our cardiovascular system, causing blood vessels to dilate and increase blood flow. What a great effect on the physical body as the emotional body feels happy and relaxed. The right music can help create deep relaxation and induce peaceful sleep. Which makes it perfect to go hand in hand with massage.

Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage

The Heavenly Healing Massage

Wondering what a Heavenly Healing Massage is like? Well now you can find out.

Indulge your senses with the Heavenly Healing Massage. This full-body style of massage blends long, sweeping strokes mixed with deeper strokes into the aching muscles of the body that my intuition guides me to help release the pain and stress. This exceptional style is adapted to your particular body needs and your choice of pressure. Let your mind, body and spirit escape reality with the fantastic Heavenly Healing Massage!

Another benefit of Heavenly Healing Mobile Massage is that I come to you in your home or office. I bring everything that is needed for your massage: massage table, sheets, lotions and even music to help you unwind, all in the comforts of your own home. This convenience means that you do not have to have any worries about driving, or your next errand, or whatever other mind-chatter you have going on. You just get to slow down and breathe and maybe even enjoy a glass of your favorite wine after your massage.